


A Touch Is All It Takes

by Kyashiyoku



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Dan - Freeform, Exes, Fluff and Smut, Gay, M/M, Own Characters - Freeform, Phil - Freeform, Slow Burn, daughter - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-07
Updated: 2018-11-07
Packaged: 2019-05-19 08:44:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14870537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyashiyoku/pseuds/Kyashiyoku
Summary: A fan fiction of Dan and Phil and their journey from being two strangers with totally different lives.





	1. Zebra Crossing

**Author's Note:**

> Hi Everyone, this is my first "professional" fanfic, I hope you enjoy and kudos is appreciated :)

"Come-on Lia" Phil chimed as his gorgeous daughter padded her way across the carpet to him.       

Lia made her way forward to her dad with open arms and a gummy smile cooing "da da"

"Let's go my little princess"

Phil picked up Lia and his backpack and headed towards the door, grabbing the keys and locking them both out the apartment Phil lived in with his daughter.

"Yes, a taxi to Jessop Street please, the Treacle Apartment thanks." after ordering a taxi Phil slid his phone into

his back pocket.

"Lia what would you like to do when I pick you up?"

"u-um BUILD A BWER!"

Phil laughed and agreed "Okay and maybe get a McDonalds too?"

"YAY" Lia cheered.

*HONK* the taxi pulled up.

 

Phil carried Lia into the taxi before telling the driver the destination to the day care centre.

 

*30 minutes later*

 

"Come on then Lia, let's go see June"

"Jooooon! yay"

Phil chuckled and handed the taxi driver three ten-pound notes. Grabbing Lia's hand Phil and his daughter walked

towards the day care centre.

"Hey there Lia! Hey Phil, nice to see you two again" said June

"Hey thanks for having her again, I've got a meeting with the book publishers today about getting them printed."

"Ooh we love having your little angel here" June said cupping Lia's face"

"She's my inspiration and joy these days" Phil smiled.

"Aw that's so beautiful to hear, well I’m sure we will have lots of fun today Lia"

After speaking with June and saying goodbye to Lia, Phil set off to his meeting.

 

When Phil left the day care centre he decided to call for another taxi to the office.

Entering the taxi, he told the cab driver the location and he sat down on the left back seat of the cab. Phil always loved looking out the window, watching building's and people zoom by- although sometimes he watched in the present as London traffic is a nightmare. He noticed a backpack with a purple dinosaur on the front in a shop window he went by and thought of Lia's love for dinosaurs, a smile appeared on Phil's face until he was caught off guard by the taxi driver telling him that they had arrived. He handed the cab driver £10 and started walking towards the office.

*click* waiting for the walking man to turn green Phil checked the time on his phone screen then heard the beeping go off from the traffic lights. Hastily Phil walked across the crossing accidently brushing closely to another guy. He felt a short spark as he strode past, so he turned around and found himself deep in eye contact with a gorgeous chocolate brown haired man. Thoughts appeared in Phil's head "wow this man is so beautiful" "should I apologise?"

He shook his head and turned back around and made his way to the office

Phil made his way to his meeting only to find out it had been cancelled due to repairs in the office. He felt frustrated as he could've had a day with his daughter, but he was determined to have a good day, so pulled out his phone deciding what to do for the next 3 hours- his daughter was at day care and saw that an underground was nearby, so he thought he would take a trip into central London.

Walking down the steps Phil forgot to text his mother to let her know how the meeting went as she always loved to know what her golden son was doing. Phil tapped out a quick text explaining that his meeting was cancelled and that he was getting on the tube and would call her later. Putting his phone away he swiped his oyster card across the scanner line and boarded the tube, he looked around for any empty seats hoping he didn't have to stand up. He spotted a seat next to a brown-haired man, he seemed familiar and soon it clicked.

~

Dan was on his way to pick up some sheet music that he wanted to practice from his favourite music shop and spend more time than he should staring and admiring the sleek pianos. *sigh* one day he thought, "they're beautiful are they not?" stated the owner, "Yeah they're so pretty, I'll purchase one someday" and with that he turned on his heel and exited the shop with his bag of sheet music. Pulling out his phone, Dan checked the time- "11:34" it was still pretty early, so he decided to make his way to the underground and head into central London. Before getting on the train he felt thirsty, so he took a trip to Starbucks to get his favourite drink- the caramel macchiato.

"Hello what can I get you"

"Uhm, one caramel macchiato please"

"Sure, your name?"

"Dan"

 

Dan grabbed his receipt and stood to the side, he looked around and watched a little girl drawing on the window with the condensation, he smiled and started day dreaming about having a family which was odd for Dan seeing as he was so young, and he had never had that sort of daydream before. Suddenly he was snapped out of his daydream by the barista calling out his name "DAN! CARAMEL MACCHIATO” “uh yeah" he grabbed the drink and left swiftly.

 

Sipping his drink, Dan pressed the button to cross the road ahead of him, whilst waiting he checked his twitter timeline and liked some interaction he had from a piano piece he had uploaded. "beep beep beep" the walking man flashed green and so he crossed the road still looking at his phone he brushed past a raven black-haired man just an inch smaller than him. He turned around and met eye contact with the stranger, he never really believed in soulmates or signs, but he did feel something of a spark, he hadn't broken eye contact yet and they were just stood in the middle of the road idle. 20 seconds had past and they were interrupted by honking of cars, dan turned around and continued walking distracting himself with a swig of his drink.

After that weird moment Dan carried on walking until he realizes he had walked the wrong way and past the station he was going to get the train on, by this point Dan was very flustered so he got up google maps on his phone and started heading in the direction of the nearest underground station. After what seemed hours (but minutes) Dan arrived at the station, he stood in line behind a blonde haired middle-aged woman and waited to check his balance on his oyster card. *beep* up flashed his balance of £22.40- more than enough to get to central London. Scanning his card and walking through the twisting barrier he entered the platform and a train was already at the platform, so he decided to go find a seat, for some reason there wasn't as many people as there usually were, so he thought he might as well walk through the carriages to find a two-seater free. Setting down his backpack Dan pulled out his phone from his jeans pocket and loaded up Instagram to scroll aimlessly through his feed *tap* *tap* "excuse me" someone taps his shoulder and asks if they may sit to the seat he had his backpack on.

Dan looks up to see the same man who he shared eye contact with in the street only an hour ago.

"Uh, sure" Dan said moving his bag "Cheers" said the mystery man.

Thoughts were flying through Dans mind "how? he was going in a totally different direction" "it's just a coincidence"

~

Phil took off his backpack swiftly and placed it between his legs as he sat down on the chair next to the stranger. He was so beautiful close up, his lightly tanned skin, his hands were so pretty. Dan’s hands were firmly grasping his phone as he played an intense game of geometry dash- “damn” muttered Dan. Phil couldn’t help but let out a small giggle, dan heard and shot a look at Phil- he was mesmerised of what he saw before him. He...he was so handsome. “Uh, sorry?” said Phil noticing Dan staring.

“Oh, um it’s fine, stupid train jolting made me miss a jump haha”

“right I saw” chuckled Phil.

Dan blushed profusely and continued to paly his game to avoid embarrassment. Except he couldn’t concentrate anymore- he was struck by the beauty next to him, speak to him Dan thought. Although, he knew this would be hard as Dan wasn’t the best with social contact, but he thought he would regret not speaking to the stranger otherwise, staring into the glass ahead of him, he looked at Phil’s reflection which was looking downwards with a slight glare on his face.

He looked down as if he was looking at his own phone but guided his eyes to the right of him to see what Phil was doing.

“nerd” Dan said out loud by accident

“excuse me?” replied Phil

Oh no how did I managed to say that out loud…idiot

Phil gave Dan a small smile, his eyes glistening. For a few seconds the silence between them was very awkward.

“says you”

“w-what” Dan stuttered, confused.

Phil’s eyes looked towards Dan’s phone which showed his lock screen as a Diglet.

“hey, it’s ironic”

“hmm sure, but for the record Rapidash is way better”

Dan couldn’t believe what he was hearing, he had never met someone so good looking who had the same interests as him, snap out of it Dan it’s just one thing and he’s not going to be interested with you.

“So, what makes me a nerd stranger?” Phil asked.

“you’re playing animal crossing” Dan snapped back

“um no I wasn’t” Phil said protectively

“open your phone up”

Dan watched Phil unlock his phone and his lock screen was a little girl, was that his daughter? Was it his sister? How could he have a child when he looks so young?

“okay fine you caught me” Phil said giving in.

“told you haha” for a moment Dan felt a spark as he met eye contact with Phil.

*SCREEECH*

The train halted to a stop and a muzzled intercom spoke “VICTORIA STATION” The two men stood up in unison.

“Oh, are you getting off here too” asked Dan

“haha yeah”

For a few minutes they stood awkwardly wondering what to say before Phil said that they should go before the train leaves again.

“Let’s leave before we get trapped on here” “good idea”. With that, they both stepped off the train and went their separate ways.

~

Phil stepped off of the train and started walking up the stairs to head to Starbucks. Whilst he was walking all he could think about was the stranger he’d got on so well with on the train, he remembered that he didn’t even ask what the stranger’s name which he was starting to regret. He shook his head and decided to pull his earphones out his bag, open the Spotify app and picked out his playlist. Reapers by MUSE started playing, Phil made his way to Starbucks, walking with the beat of the song. 5 minutes later he arrived at Starbucks he peered inside before going in to see how busy it was- hmm not as busy as I thought it would be he thought. Phil walked in holding the door open for a woman leaving “thanks”, he smiled at her and carried on walking towards the short line ahead of him.

“Can I get a pumpkin spiced latte please”

“Is that a medium or large”

“Medium please”

“and your name?”

“Phil”

The barista gave him his receipt then Phil went and stood to the side. He looked around him seeing two people possibly on a date- this hurt, he remembered being on cute dates like this when he was with his ex-Alex, but it had been over three years since they had broken up and he had moved on- Lia helped a lot, she gave him something to keep busy with.

“excuse me sir?” “Hmm?” Phil mumbled

“Your pumpkin spiced latte” “ah thank you”

Phil kindly thanked the barista and turned on his heel to leave the coffee shop until he saw the stranger from the street and the train, enter. Three times in one day he thought. Is it a sign? He was distracted from his thoughts as he met eye contact with the stranger’s gorgeous brown eyes.

~

How is that possible Dan thought? How? Three times in one day I’ve ran into this guy.

Dan didn’t believe in signs or fate however he had a weird curiosity pulling him towards this odd coincidence. For a moment they just stared at each other before Dan broke the silence.

“Okay so this is really weird” “Yeah so weird” Phil repeated, “Well I see you’ve got a PSL am I right...Phil?” “Yes! How did you know my name?” “It says it on the side of your cup and I love PSL’s” “Oh yeah” *good one Phil*

“Soo, wanna get a drink>” Phil asked.

“Well you’ve got yours, so I’ll join you with a hot chocolate” “cool I’ll go find us a seat”

Dan walked away from Phil and let out his breath, “one hot chocolate with whipped cream please and my name is Dan”

After collecting his drink, he peered around scanning everyone for Phil, wow he picked my favourite seat he thought. Okay Dan don’t mess this up he told himself. Phil waved over at him when they made eye contact, instantly he felt a spark in his heart, he didn’t really know what this meant and ignored it. Slowly Dan made his way over to Phil making sure to not spill his drink or in this case trip and make a fool of himself. He placed his hot chocolate on the table and proceeded to take off his “dementor” coat as he called it.

“So, Tom tell me about yourself” “huh? Tom?”

“Isn’t that your name?” Phil said looking towards Dan’s hot chocolate.

“Every single time- my name’s Daniel, they do this every time I come here”

“how do you manage to mix Daniel up with Tom!”

“I know, it’s every time I swear”

An overwhelming feeling came over Dan, he felt so at ease with Phil, so calm, it was as if they’d know each other for years. “So, DAN tell me about you” Phil said with a smile.

“Well I’m 22, I just graduated university a few months back, got my Batchelors in film and editing” Dan said proudly. “Wow that’s so awesome! What else?”

“Hmm how about I tell you one thing about myself then you tell me one thing?” Dan proposed. Phil nodded “Deal”.

~

Phil thought of what he could tell Dan, he didn’t want to scare him off with the subject of a child ad he was a few years older than him.

“I’m Phil, I’m 26 and I’m a writer!”

“A writer?!” Dan exclaimed “Haha yeah”, “Ooh wow, what type of genre do you write?”

“Remember a question for a question, my turn to ask, what are your hobbies?” Phil asked with a wink.

“Haha okay, umm well as much as I like editing and film, I love music especially piano, I play in my spare time- badly..It’s kind of a dream of mine to play professionally one day but I’ve never been good enough” Dan sighed and his shoulders tightened as he told Phil this, he had never spoken about this fantasy of his before not even to his parents, however he felt like he could tell Phil anything and he wouldn’t judge….weird he thought.

~

Phil noticed Dan’s shoulders rise up quickly as Dan told him about his aspiration, he figured it was very special and important to him.

“I love piano! I mean I can’t play but I love listening to it haha”

A smile crept upon Dan’s face.

“What about you Phil, what are your hobbies?

Phil’s mind wandered towards telling Dan about Lia, but it wasn’t really a hobby being a dad. “I guess I spend a lot of time writing stories but as you pointed out on the train I’m a nerd and a big one at that, I’ve got a pretty hefty game’s collection”

"I bet it's not a patch on mine" Dan said smugly.

"Oh, I bet it is what game shave you got?"

"We'd be here all day if I named them all but some of my favourites are Crash Bandicoot, Final Fantasy and Skyrim: Elder Scrolls, what about yours?"

"Wow we have pretty similar tastes except I got bored after playing Skyrim for the 6th time in a row haha" Phil smiled and was noticing that he liked the boy a lot, they had a lot in common and he was very stunning, so it wasn't hard. Phil thought hard about his next question.

"Have you ever-"

"Oh shoot" Dan looked at his phone time and realised he was late for the train back.

"Hey uh what's wrong?" asked Phil worriedly. He was going to ask Dan if he'd ever met someone as randomly as this before, he was kind of relieved Dan interrupted him.

"I'm late for my train back, it's the last one!" Dan checks the timetables for the trains and there it states 'Train 1B has been cancelled and the line has been closed until further notice all trains going out ward have been cancelled, we apologise for any inconveniences' Dan gets up and snatches his coat off the back of his chair.

"Are you going to be able to catch it in time" Phil asked

Dan shook his head at Phil frustratedly.

"All the trains going from that line have been cancelled so I can't get home until they go back up because that's the only train that goes through my hometown."

Phil had an idea but didn't know whether he should propose it. Was inviting a complete stranger into his home a good idea? especially with Lia. After a few moments pondering on this idea and seeing Dan's brow stoop deeper and deeper he decided to give it a shot and ask.

"You could uh you could come and stay at mine and sleep on the couch if you'd like?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you made it to the end of Chapter 1, THANK YOU! I've been wanting to write a fanfic for a while now and after many failed attempts I found the confidence to finally post so enjoy! :)


	2. Come back to Mine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phil invites Dan to his home and meets Phil's daughter

Dan couldn't believe he had missed the train, when he lasted checked on his phone he had at least four hours before he needed to catch it. Dan was NEVER late to anything, he had always been on time to everything whether it was as unimportant as a hair dressers appointment to as important as a wedding. Phil had started to look worried and Dan didn't want him to think that it was him, to make him feel more comfortable he met eye contact with him. After meeting eye contact Phil asked if Dan wanted to stay at his house.

  
"Uh" Dan said aloud.

He thought to himself if this was a good idea, someone who he hardly knows but feels like he's known for years, would it be right to stay over at his house.

  
"That would be great thanks!" said Dan

  
Shocked Dan went to the toilet. He couldn't believe he just said yes to staying at a stranger’s house, he was always wise about strangers and aware of the dangers of the world and what he could be getting himself into. It must've just been an in the moment reply, at least that's what he believed it was.

  
After coming out the toilet Phil was waiting for him still sat at the same table, he had gone pale white and looked really anxious.

  
"Hey, are you alright, you look like you've seen a ghost" asked Dan

  
"Yes, yeah I'm good thanks, I go like that a lot" replied Phil. This was a lie, he only went this white when he was anxious about something.

"Okay good, well thanks a lot for letting me stay over, I promise I'm not some weirdo or creep haha"

"I know haha" laughed Phil nervously.

  
They shared eye contact for a few minutes as if they were having a silent conversation between each other.

'Your eyes are so beautiful' they both thought.  
"Uhh so do you need to do anything else whilst in central?"  
"Nope, I'm ready to go back if you are"

 

Phil then suddenly remembered that he needed to pick up Lia from day-care- which Dan had no idea about.

 

"Yeah that sounds great let's go"

  
Dan and Phil left Starbucks and started walking towards the train station, this time they both scanned their oyster cards in unison, they both got on the train and sat next to each other without having to ask anything. They met as strangers and left as friends.  
Phil was sitting twiddling his oyster card in his hands debating of when to tell Dan about his daughter, it was too cramped on the train and would be a bad idea if he freaked out or anything. He was becoming more and more anxious as to what the other might say. Phil's breathing increased dramatically all of a sudden everything went blank for a split second all he saw was black. "Phil?!" he heard Dan call, he felt Dan's hand appear on his knee.

  
"Y-yes I'm okay sorry zoned out"  
"Zoned out? It looked like you blanked out, here have some water" Dan pulled out a bottle of water already opened from his backpack. Phil sipped from the water bottle then handed it back to Dan.  
"Thanks"

  
Phil looked around and saw that their stop was next, his mind had gone off telling Dan about Lia now and was now thinking about Dan's hand on his knee, he felt a spark throughout his body at his touch. He shivered.  
[STOP EUSTON APPROACHING]  
The intercom screeched out the next stop and Phil starting to stand up.  
"This is the stop"  
"Hey, I didn't see you get on this stop when you got on before" said Dan confused.  
"uh, okay let's get out into the open first so I can get some fresh air"

  
The two walked off the train and onto the grey concrete platform, hundreds of people were zooming past to get on the train, Phil turned to look at Dan then started walking towards the exit. Walking up the stairs Phil saw daylight and took in a deep breath, his heart rate increased.

  
"So, what's up?" said Dan stopping Phil and pulling him aside.  
"Okay so you're still totally welcome and if you don't want to stay I will happily pay for your hotel because I should've told you this when I was asking you...I have a 3-year-old daughter that is currently at daycare which is why I'm here to pick her up."  
Dan was silent for a few seconds. Phil's heartrate increased again.

  
"I really don't like children Phil you should've told me this before I travelled a quarter of a way across the city." Dan said sternly. He was joking obviously.  
"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have asked in the first place." said Phil upset.

  
"Hey, hey I'm joking, children love me, and I love them so don't worry! I mean a bit of notice wouldn't have gone unappreciated but thank you for telling me now" Dan said smiling for ear to ear.  
"Oh phew, don't do that, I was so worried you'd want to turn around and be scared off"

  
"No of course not, I'm not one to run away at the thought of a family" Dan blushed that was very irrelevant, but Phil seemed to smile which made Dan smile.  
A moment of silence past.

  
"Let's go get her then as she's probably missing me bless her"  
"Aw that's adorable, what's her name"

  
"Lia" Phil answered as they started walking towards the day care centre.  
"Aww that's such an adorable name" cooed Dan

  
10 minutes later they arrived at the day care centre.  
"Hey June, her for my little princess" Phil chirped

 

"She's already ready, she always seems to know when you're coming to arrive"

  
Phil watches as June goes to get his daughter, he turns to see Dan looking somewhat uncomfortable. Why does he look so uncomfortable? I mean it's kind of a weird situation to be in I suppose picking up your stranger's daughter.  
"Are you okay? You look a bit uncomfortable" asked Phil

  
"Yeah- I just uh...it's a bit of a weird atmosphere is all, I’ve never been somewhere like this"

  
"Oh, well June will be back soon with Lia then we can go back to mine- actually I promised her McDonald’s" Phil said looking awkward  
"McDonald’s sounds great! It's on me" Dan said with a wink.

  
Their eyes were fixated on each other’s after Dan's wink. Phil was taking in how gorgeous this man really was, he had previously only had quick glances trying not to make it weird but now he felt relaxed as the two shared an unfamiliar chemistry, Dan's gorgeous brown hair fell into cute natural curls, shaping his face nicely. Dan looked into Phil's eyes, those bright blue eyes were so beautiful, such a rare blue. He studied Phil's face as they were stood in deep eye contact, his smooth pale skin- not a single blemish in sight. Dan looked up at Phil's perfectly styled quiff, not a raven black hair out of place.

  
"...DADDY" shouted Lia  
For a second Phil wasn't aware of what was going on around him, he was just fixated on Dan the whole time, not wanting to leave their bubble they had created between them. Suddenly it hit Phil- LIA.  
"PRINCESS!" said Phil breaking eye contact with Dan and turning around to greet his daughter.

  
"Is that your boyfriend daddy?" Lia asked looking past Phil at Dan.

  
Phil grabbed Lia's hand and started walking out of the daycare centre.

  
"No darling, this is daddy's friend Daniel"

  
Dan smiled at the little girl and introduced himself.  
"Hello, I'm Dan" he said shaking her little hand.  
"Hewo" replied Lia.  
Phil looked at Dan apologetically but saw the Dan didn't seem uncomfortable at all, in fact Dan was fixated on Lia and was asking her about her day. Phil smiled, being a single dad was sometimes hard for him, it was hard not having someone else there since Alex had left. Seeing Dan playing with her and talking to her was very heartwarming for him and it was the first time since him and Alex broke up that he had met someone that made him happy, even if it was just a coincidence that they met.  
“Lia shall we go get some McDonald's like I promised?”

  
“YAYYYY” said Lia happily.

  
Phil took one of Lia’s hand and put her backpack over his shoulder, he looked over at Dan who was pulling out his wallet. Phil whispered in Dan’s ear “Don’t worry you don’t have to pay”, “No I want to, please”. Dan smiled at him and Phil returned a smile back. Whilst walking to Mcdonalds Dan was talking to Lia about how her day was.

  
“Hey Lia, how was your day” asked Dan

  
“I had good day” Lia said smiling from ear to ear.

  
“That’s good! What did you get up to?”

  
“I drew a-a-a lion”

  
“Oh wow! I bet it looks really good”

  
10 minutes later

  
The three arrived at McDonald’s and made their way to the self-service machine.  
“What would you like” asked Dan looking at Phil.  
“I’m not really that hungry, what do you want Lia?”  
“NUGGETS!” shouted Lia.  
Dan nodded and tapped on the screen ordering a happy meal for Lia and a big mac and fries for himself. He looked at Phil and asked if he was sure he didn’t want anything.  
“Are you sure you don’t want anything?”  
“Yeah I’m sure”  
“Okay, Lia do you want to press okay?” asked Dan  
“Yes!” said Lia  
Dan looked at Phil to make sure it was okay to pick up Lia and Phil gave him a reassuring nod and smile. He picked up Lia and leant her against his hip facing Phil, Dan pointed towards the check out button and Lia followed and pressed the button making the machine spit out a receipt after Dan had paid.

 

*

  
Phil watched as Dan picked up his daughter and guided her so carefully- helping her pressing the buttons, it made his heart warm, he hadn’t felt anything like this since first cradling Lia in his arms. He stared at them with a big smile, seeing how happy Lia.  
“Should we go and look what toys you could get from your happy meal whilst we are waiting Lia” proposed Phil.  
“Yaaa” squealed Lia.  
“Come on then”

  
He watched as Dan took the receipt out of the machine and put Lia down carefully then look up and give Phil the brightest smile he had ever seen. Phil smiled back with equal brightness and whispered thank you to Dan. Dan nodded and said it was more than okay and started talking about how lovely that Lia was. Whilst listening to what he was saying I couldn’t help but focus on all the details on his face, each one so perfect, so gorgeous. He was snapped out of his staring session after he felt an arm on his shoulder, he quickly snapped out of it and realised it was Dan’s hand on his shoulder.

  
“Hey, are you okay Phil?” said Dan worriedly, “You went all blurry on me for a second”

  
“Oh yes, sorry haha, I tend to do that a lot” replied Phil quickly, hoping that it masked what he was actually doing.

  
“NUMBER 2009 COME AND COLLECT YOUR ORDER” shouted a McDonald’s employee.

  
Phil watched as Dan walked over to the counter effortlessly and took the bag of food from the woman at the counter, they caught eye contact as Dan turned back towards him and Lia and Dan shot cross eyes at Lia, the room filled with Lia giggling and several people eating turned around to coo at the cute giggles escaping Lia.

  
“Let’s go EAT” said Dan enthusiastically”

  
The three exited McDonalds and headed towards a bench outside that was under some trees providing shade. Dan got out Lia’s happy meal and passed it to me to give to rip the box open for Lia. She tucked in instantly, Dan also started unboxing his burger and pausing to offer me some fries.

“Come on you need to eat at least something” Dan said pleadingly”

“Okay, you tempted m-“ Phil froze.

“Phil? Are you okay?” said Dan looking at Phil froze into place.

Phil just stared at the man in front of him who was staring back. The man looked at Phil then to Lia and then to Dan who were all sitting closely together on the bench.

  
“Alex, what are you doing here”…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading Chapter 2! I am going to try and update as regularly as I possibly can, but Chapter 3 WILL be coming :) x


	3. Alex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter you will learn about the history of Alex and Phil's relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter does contain mild violence and threatening behaviour.

"Hello Phil"

Dan looked at the male in front of him and then diverted his eyes to look at Phil who was stuck staring onto the stranger. He studied Phil’s face, a bead of sweat formed upon Phil’s brow and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he gulped.

“Is everything okay?” Dan asked ignoring the stranger staring at the three.

Phil didn’t reply straight away, instead he grabbed onto Lia and placed her on his lap.

“Lia, daddy is going to speak to this man but it’s private stuff so would you like to go into the amusements with Dan?”

Phil looked at Dan as if to ask if it was okay, Dan stretched out his arms to reach for Lia and nodded with a concerned look.

“Come on Lia, let’s go win some prizes!” said Dan

“YAY” squealed Lia

~

Phil watched as Dan and Lia walked off, he then turned to Alex who was still standing and staring at Phil expecting a reply.

“What do you want Alex?” asked Phil cautiously.

“Can we sit down, I want to explain myself” Alex replied.

Phil took a moment to think, should he give Alex a chance to talk? It had been three years since Alex had broken up with Phil, three years that his heart had been slowly mending and three years since Lia has been born. He never got closure on the situation and the breakup was very hazy to him since he had repressed the horrible memory and replaced it with Lia. The lack of closure didn’t stand in the way of Lia however he was curious to know as to why Alex broke up with him in the first place, after all the ten months before the break up they were very much in love, which is why they decided that they were ready to have a baby, celebrating their three years of being together.

Pulling himself away from his thoughts Phil looked at Alex who was now staring at the floor fidgeting with his fingers nervously.

“Okay, I will listen” said Phil

“What, really?” said Alex looking hopeful.

“Yes, just out with it all and don’t leave anything out, I want to know everything and why you did what you did Alex.” Phil said sternly.

Alex took a deep breath “Okay”

“I just want you to know I never meant to hurt you Phil, that is all”

Phil nodded and beckoned him to start.

“Three years ago, I made the worst decision I have ever made, and I put myself before you, the man who I love with all my heart. I’m not going to hide anything anymore, I feared myself, I feared my sexuality and even though I knew deep down- that I love you, I was so selfish and decided to just chuck away everything built up to not be judged by everyone.”

“You were ashamed of being with me?” Phil said quietly.

“NO, not at all I just was ashamed of being gay Phil, I couldn’t handle it.”

Phil nodded and remained silent.

“I was scared of where we were heading- having a baby and all just scared me so much along with my insecurities.”

“Alex, we had so many discussions of having a child and every time you said you want to have a child which is why we made the decision to have Lia in the first place.” Phil felt a wave of anger surge through him at the thought of Alex lying to him.

“I know, I know and it’s just I never came out to my parents”

“So, all that time, the three years we were together for, you lied about telling your parents, and your parents “loving” me, is that why you never kissed me or held my hand in front of them?”

“Yes, I’m so sorry Phil” Alex’s head sunk, he couldn’t bear to look at Phil.

“Why would you even lie about something like that, we were together for three years Alex Jesus!” said Phil putting his head in his hand.

“I hated myself for months and I did try to get back in contact with you, but no-one ever answered.”

“You broke my heart Alex, you made your decision of not wanting me and Lia, you threw our family away, so yes I cut all communication”

“Phil, I made it right, I came out to my parents and I had nothing to worry about, in fact they already guessed that we were together and when I told them that I broke up with you because of home I felt I cried and cried for hours because I made such a huge mistake and threw away the love of my life” Alex said with tears welling in his eyes.

“Alex- “Phil said before Alex interrupted him.

“Phil please give me just one chance to make it right, I know it’s been so long, but I’ve ever given up on you Phil, don’t give up on me, not now.” Alex said pleadingly.

Phil was so taken back by this whole event, it put closure on everything and now he had to make a choice. He knew deep down how Alex felt whilst dating but he was really in love for the first time when he was with Alex. His heart was broken, and it had taken so long for his heart to heal and it still hurt when he thought about him. Phil thought about the stuff Alex had said, everything included Phil but not Lia.

“Why did you agree to have a child with me?”

“I wanted you to be happy, I did want a family, I want US to be a family” Alex shifted closer whilst saying this, the gap on the bench minimizing. “I would never do anything like this again Phil, I’m so sorry”

Phil thinks back to when they were together, they were very happy, and the good times outweighed the bad.

“Lia is my priority, what about her? Can I trust you again?” Phil asked Alex

“I’ll get to know her, she’s our daughter Phil”

Phil shakes his head “She is biologically mine and you said that you wanted nothing to do with her nor me so you name isn’t anywhere, you don’t have any affiliation to her.”

He watched as Alex’s face falls. “She knows who I am right?” said Alex thinking back to when Lia looked at him like he was just any other stranger.

“I’m all she knows” said Phil sadly.

Alex started to sob, and Phil turned to Alex, sitting awkwardly, feeling sympathy but at the same time anger.

“Phil please, one, just one more chance” said Alex pleadingly.

Seeing how Alex was being so open and truthful, more open than he ever was in their three years together, Phil saw a glistening of hope in Alex.

“I- I- okay, but- “

“THANK YOU” Alex exclaimed

“BUT, we need to start as friends okay, I’m not promising anything will be like it used to be” Phil said strongly.

“Okay, thank you so much” Alex said as he hugs Phil.

Phil places one hand on Alex’s back and wonders if he’s made the right choice. Lia will always be his first priority and having a second parental figure could be good for her, to be like a proper family. He breaks away from the awkward hug and stands up, he feels Alex grab his wrist and he receives a wave of memory, a memory back to the day it all happened... the day they broke up.

*FLASH*

Phil feels a tingling feeling round his wrist’s, Alex’s hand constricting the blood flow to Phil’s already turning crimson hands. “DON’T LEAVE PHIL”. Phil looks at the bulging vein protruding from Alex’s head then back to where Alex’s hand was firmly wrapped around Phil’s wrist. “Let go Alex” Phil said shaking off Alex’s grasp, he makes a leap for Lia and grabs her. “You said it’s over Alex, you’ve broken my heart.”

Phil turns his back on Alex and places Lia in her baby basket then swiftly turns back to Alex who has gone red with rage. “Don’t you get it Phil, we are a family, this stuff happens all the time, we all say stuff we don’t mean, c’mon” Alex said through gritted teeth.

“Alex- “

“Phil, babe, you love me”

“Alex- “

“SAY YOU LOVE ME” Alex said staring to sound insane”

“ALEX ENOUGH” Phil shouted

Alex lunged towards Phil, grabbing Phil’s collar and pushing him to the wall.

“Say. It.”

Phil grabs Alex’s wrists and pushes him away, sending Alex onto the sofa. Phil thinks fast, and grabs Lia and a small bag Phil had always kept in case of emergencies and ran out of the house Alex and he rented and got into a taxi.

*FLASH*

“Phil?” said Alex confused”

“You pushed me around”

“what”

“When we broke up”

“Phil, I took my anger out on you and I have changed, I took anger management classes and got a lot of therapy, I would never hurt you or Lia I swear. I’m so sorry” Alex said staring into Phil’s eyes.

Phil looks at Alex, he concludes that he looks genuine and takes a few moments to study Alex’s face before nodding to say okay.

“I should go get Lia and Dan”

“What about us” askes Alex

“Here’s my new phone number” said Phil pulling out his phone.

“Thank you for giving me this chance”

Phil nodded and gave Alex a hug and waved as he walked off. He took a deep breath and proceeded to walk to the amusements still a bit shaky from what had just happened. He spotted Dan and Lia slotting 2p’s into a machine, Lia was stood on a little stool with Dan’s hand on her back to make sure she didn’t fall. He had never seen such a brighter smile from someone until he saw Dan in this moment. All his shaking disappeared.

He casually walked over to where Dan and Lia were playing and tapped them both on the back.

“DADDY!” Lia said turning around quickly to hug Phil. Phil dropped onto her level to receive the well needed hug.

“Hey Phil” said Dan smiling, Phil could’ve sworn his smile got brighter but he thought that was impossible.

“Everyone ready to go?” said Phil who was ready to go back to the safety of his home.

“Yeah” said Dan and Lia in unison.

“Thanks for that” Phil whispered to Dan as he returned to stand upright. He could feel Dan’s eyes studying him and his once bright smile disappeared. He felt Dan’s hand appear on his back.

“Are you okay” Dan asked concerned.

“Yeah of course” Phil said faking a smile.

“Good” Dan wasn’t convinced but smiled back anyway.

Dan directed his attention back to Lia after tapping Phil’s back comfortingly.

“Taxi taxi taxi time” chanted Dan.

All three got into the waved down taxi and headed off back to Phil’s apartment.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow..this Alex guy seems to have a lot of up and downs. Is he back for good? What do you think about Alex?
> 
> Thank you for taking your time to read Chapter 3 of 'A touch is all it takes'. I appreciate everyone who takes some time out of their day to read! See you in Chapter 4 :) x


	4. Microwave Popcorn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events with Alex, Dan, Lia and Phil head back to Phil's apartment for the night.

“This is your apartment?” asked Dan walking behind Phil.

“Sure is, it isn’t much but I’m saving to find the right house”

Dan was in awe of the fancy staircase leading up to Phil’s apartment, he ran his fingers up the silver hand rail whilst nearing the top of the stairs. As the three reached the top Phil put Lia down whilst Phil got his keys out of his backpack. Lia looked up at Dan and gave him a gummy smile, Dan giggled at her and smiled back. Phil opened the door into his spacious apartment and beckoned Dan in with Lia.

“Woah Phil, I think I need to become a writer holy sh- moley” Dan said looking amazed but also aware of Lia’s presence.

Phil laughed, happy that Dan remembered what he does. The two watched as Lia slipped off her sandals and let out a big yawn.

“I think someone is sleepy, that was a big roar” said Phil picking up Lia.

Phil pointed at the door and then back at Lia to tell dan he was putting her to sleep. Dan nodded. He took this time to look around Phil’s apartment running his finger across the marble worktop and sitting on a breakfast bench chair waiting for Phil to return.

“Hey, just us now” said Phil. “Can I get you a drink?”

“I’ll have a water with ice if you’ve got that”

Dan watched as Phil reached into the cupboard exposing the top of his Calvin Klein boxer briefs, his eyes were fixated on Phil’s lower back watching his back dimples dance as Phil moved. Suddenly Phil span back around and notices Dan staring at him, he watches Dan’s face turn red.

“I uh- sorry. I was daydreaming” stuttered Dan.

“Ahh..I do that all the time” replied Phil acting like he didn’t see.

Dan took a deep breath. He wondered what tonight would bring. He looked at Phil, trying to read his face, he seemed so eager to leave when he came back earlier from talking to that guy Alex. Even when he asked what was wrong he got brushed off.

“Hey, Phil, can we sit?” asked Dan

“Uh, sure” said Phil gesturing to the grey couch.

Dan placed his hand on Phil’s knee.

Phil looked at Dan’s hand on his knee, he wondered what was going to happen. He just caught Dan staring at his ass and now touching affection?

“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it, but what happened earlier? I know I’m still a complete stranger, but I will listen.”

This was quite the opposite of what Phil thought was going to take place.

Phil looked into Dan’s eyes, he knew he could trust him but he had never opened up to anyone about the way Alex treated him the day they broke up.

“I- uh-“ Phil started stuttering.

“Hey, take your time it’s okay” said dan moving his hand from Phil’s knee and placing it on his shoulder.

After several deep breaths from Phil and a swig of his water, Phil unraveled his memory of his and Alex’s exchange form earlier.

-An Hour Later-

“He took my collar and threw me against the wall, I was scared as to what he would’ve done next, so I went with my gut feeling and fled with Lia” Phil clenched his hands together and stared at the floor as he relived the experience.

“But even after all that, I gave him another chance”

He looked at Dan who was a mixture of sadness and anger.

“So, this guy asked you for another chance after three years, and you gave it to him?”

“Yeah, I know how stupid it sounds but I feel like I need to at least give him one chance to see if he’s changed and another parent for Lia would be good”

“I understand why you did it Phil, I myself have given people too many chances” said Dan with a side smile.

“Speaking of you, how about we start talking about you instead and not my tragic love life”

“Haha okay.. what would you like to know?”

Phil thought back to an hour ago when he saw Dan staring at his backside.

“I hope this isn’t too intrusive but are you gay?”

Dan fidgeted around with his hands at this question.

“Sorry” apologized Phil.

“No, no it’s okay” Dan said but not answering the question.

A moment of awkward silence passed by.

“So, nerd, you said you had a hefty games collection, let’s see it” Dan said smirking.

Phil looked at Dan, partially confused at the sudden change of conversation. Was he gay? Why didn’t he disclose it? He decided to brush it off and forget about it for now, he definitely did not want it to be anymore awkward if Dan was staying at his house. He pushed himself off the couch and strolled over to a huge cabinet and slid the door the left.

“Here are all my favourites that I play regularly” said Phil confidently.

“REGULARLY, there’s like at least 15 there!” exclaimed Dan

“Shhh! Lia’s sleeping” said Phil giggling.

“Sorry, oh my god you have Mario Kart 8 Deluxe”

“Wanna play?”

“Yes!!”

Phil handed over a controller and they picked their characters. Dan chose Mario and selected it with a Kirby Suit whilst Phil used his Mii character. They both readied up and started their first round.

-Two hours of Mario Kart later-

“I’m hungry, do you want anything?” Phil asked to Dan.

“Microwave Popcorn?” Dan replied looking hopeful.

“I hope you like buttered”

“The best” said Dan engrossed in a solo game of Mario Kart

Phil waited over by the microwave whilst the popcorn was cooking, he looked back over at Dan enjoying himself, he smiled and then turned back towards the microwave. He watched as the numbers decreased and wondered if he should bring up the sexuality question again, but he thought he should leave it for tonight. *DING* Phil opened the microwave and emptied the bag into a bowl and made his way back to where Dan was raging intensely.

“Here you go, I hope you don’t mind if we share, there was only one packet left”

“Totally fine” said Dan reaching for the popcorn.

They both put their hands into the bowl without looking, Phil’s hand got to the bowl first and Dan’s hand landed softly on top. Startled the two both retracted their hands quickly, they looked at each other for a brief moment before bursting into a fit of laughter.

“After you” Dan said between laughs.

“Thanks” giggled Phil

The popcorn vanished almost instantly and they both laid on the sofa full.

“Hey, you can sleep in my bed and I’ll sleep out here tonight”

…

“Dan did you hea-“

Phil had turned to Dan, but he was soundly asleep. He carefully stood up and received a blanket from the other side of the sofa and draped it over Dan. For a moment Phil looked at Dan sleeping soundly and felt a buzz in his heart, he felt the urge to move Dan’s curls out his eyes, but he thought about the consequences this would have if he were to wake up. Instead, Phil rubbed his arm and then went into his own bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading! I have received so much support since the last chapter and it really motivates me to keep on writing for you guys! I'm glad you are all enjoying so far :)  
> I made sure to get a chapter up before I go on holiday as I will be away for about a week so I hope this chapter is sufficient!
> 
> See you in Chapter 5 ;) x


	5. Text Messages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter Dan leaves his phone number for Phil. He also receives a very odd message from someone..

Dan let out a big yawn and stretched out his arms. He flinched when his arm hit the couch- forgetting he was at Phil’s apartment. He grabbed himself a glass of water from the kitchen and started thinking about last night. Him nearly getting caught by Phil looking at his perfect body, and Phil asking if he was gay. Dan cursed himself, ‘why did I not say yes’ he thought, he felt so comfortable with Phil, but the question made him clam up. He smiled to himself though remembering having fun playing crash bandicoot and budging each other when they died. *Bzzz* Dan’s phone vibrated with three messages from his mother who had tried to ring.

**[Mum]**

**M:Daniel?**

**M:Daniel where are you?**

**M:Text me back when you can x**

**D:Hey mum I’m fine, went to see a friend in London, spare key to my apartment under the doormat.**

 

“Oh crap” Dan said aloud. The time displayed on his phone was 10:30am, he needed to be home for his piano lesson at 1pm and he hadn’t even brought a train ticket yet. He quickly grabbed at his wallet and phone and put them in his bag before pulling back out a note pad and pen, he thought he should write a note instead of waking Phil up, he was a guest after all.

_Phil_

_Thank you for letting me stay at your apartment, you’re an actual live saver. I’ve attached some money on this note for the taxi and just a thank you for letting me stay at such short notice and letting a stranger into your house!_

_I hope to stay in contact :)_

_-Daniel Howell_

 

Dan ripped out the paper and placed it on the kitchen counter. He noticed Phil’s phone on the marble worktop, so he walked over and checked for a passcode. No password was needed to get into Phil’s phone so dan went into contacts and added himself under the name of ‘Stranger’ with a train and coffee emoji. After giving Phil his number, he went back and added to the note. ‘p.s check your contacts’. Dan quickly grabbed a £20 note out of his pocket and put it under the note and made his way out the door making sure to close it as quietly as possible, he left with a flourish, getting into a taxi to the closest train station to make his way home.

~

“Daddy?” said Lia

…

“DADDY!” Lia repeated louder.

…

Lia climbed up onto Phil’s bed and jumped onto him.

“I’m awake, I’m awake” Phil replied pulling Lia into a big hug.

“Morning princess, what would you like to do today?”

“PLAY!!” Lia squealed

“Haha okay bab, Daddy has to do some work first through, so you’ll have to play alone for only a little while okay?”

Lia nodded and then ran out into the living room, she went straight to the couch expecting dan but returned to Phil when all she found was a folded-up blanket.

“Where Dan?”

“In the living room sweetheart”

“Not there” said Lia

Phil got out of bed and made his way into the living room hastily.

“Dan?” Phil said into the empty space.

He received no reply. He felt sad that Dan just left without saying goodbye.

“Was it the question I asked?” Phil said to himself out loud. Phil ran the tap in the kitchen and filled up the kettle for a cup of coffee. Scratching his head Phil turned around to find a note in the counter from Dan. A smile crept upon Phil’s face whilst he read the note.

“Check your contacts?” Phil read confused.

He reached for his phone and tapped on contacts, he began to scroll through his contacts rapidly to find the new contact, he stopped and saw ‘Stranger’ coupled with two emojis. The same warm and tingly feeling coursed through Phil, the exact same as to how he felt first talking to Dan in Starbucks. Immediately he started typing out a text to Dan.

**[Stranger]**

**P:Hey it’s me…Phil lol. I hope you have a safe journey back home :)**

**P:You didn’t need to the leave the money behind btw!**

Phil sent his messages, satisfied with the fact that he now had Dan’s number. He placed his phone in his pajamas pocket and made a coffee for himself and a juice for Lia.

2Lia come get your juice”

Phil heard Lia’s little feet patting on the floors, eager for her drink.

“Here you go princess” Phil said handing Lia her drink.

“Thank oo daddy” said Lia sipping her drink.

After Phil finished his coffee he helped Lia get washed and dressed for the day before getting ready himself. Phil put on his glasses and sprayed his seat salt spray into his hair, taming his quiff back. He looked at himself in the mirror checking how he looked even though he wasn’t going anywhere special. Lia clapped from behind him, appreciating his looks.

“Da da, where Dan”

“Dan has gone back to his house Princess” said Phil disappointed

“Oh” Lia said looking upset”

“It’s okay though I’m sure you’ll get to see him another time!” He mostly said this for his benefit hoping that it would be true and that he saw the curly haired man again.

*an hour later*

BZZZ..BZZZ

Phil’s phone vibrated with two new messages.

Phil looked away from his computer screen and looked at his phone which displayed two messages from ‘Stranger’. He let out a little giggle of excitement and swiped his phone to read the messages he had received.

**[Stranger]**

**D:hey sorry for the late reply I was stuck on the tube with no service**

**D:I see you found my number okay then haha**

 

Phil smiled at the messages and instantly began typing back.

**[Stranger]**

**P:Yeah I mean I didn’t have anyone else saved as ‘Stranger’**

**D:True**

**P:How was the train journey?**

**D:not bad too many people for my liking though**

**P:that sucks, at least you’re back safe :)**

**D:yeah, but honestly thank you for letting me stay yesterday**

**P:Oh gosh, that’s more than okay**

**D:I really appreciated it**

**P:Haha it’s okay, Lia asked where you had gone. It’s strange she usually is so timid when other people come round and meeting new people but she loved you!**

**D:told you kids loved me :D**

**P:touche**

**D:I’ll speak to you later my mother is expecting me to be home any minute haha**

**P:Okay, see you around stranger! ^_^**

**D:bye :)**

 

Phil noticed the huge smile that had grown onto his face, he re-read the conversation they just had with joy. He couldn’t believe how well he could get on with someone he had known for only a day..but it felt like they’d know each other for years. He locked his phone and went back to writing on his computer.

~

Walking up the street to his apartment Dan smiled at his phone, feeling happy from the conversation he and Phil had. Although it was just a simple and normal conversation to some it meant a lot to Dan. He had never been someone to feel a lot, but the last 24 hours had been the best he had endured in a longtime. Phil- a stranger had gotten more emotions out of him than anyone had in years. He thought back to the question Phil asked last night. “Are you gay?” Dan shuddered, it wasn’t that he was ashamed to answer but, in the past, he had been outed to his whole school who weren’t as accepting as his family were. He pushed the thought out of his mind and focused on his happy feeling that he had recently come back into touch with- happiness, he skipped up the stairs to his apartment that he had just bought since leaving university. He knocked on the door knowing his mother was in.

“Daniel! Sweetheart” his mother greeted him with a big hug.

“Hey mum” Dan said hugging back

“You see happy, must’ve been a nice friend” teased his mum.

“Yeah good one mum” but he smiled anyway

Dan sat down on his couch and pulled his phone out of his bag, he had an unread message from a number he didn’t recognize, he tapped on the screen and read it.

**[077664447281]**

**?:Hello**

**D:Do you have the right number?**

**?:I think so, Daniel right?**

**D:Yes, who is this**

**?:Oh you don’t know me, but I know you and I know what you’re trying to do and it’s not worth it trust me.**

**D:Um, I’m not sure what you’re talking about and I really think this is the wrong number.**

**?:Phil does that name ring a bell?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading as always! Next chapter should be very interesting to find out who the mystery number is :o  
> See you in chapter 6 x


	6. Mystery Number

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan finds out who the mystery caller is.

[077664447281]

D:Yes but what does that have to do with anything?

?:I don’t think you should be involved with him, he’s not a good person to be with.

D:Why not?

?:Just the things he has done in the past, you cannot trust him Dan, I don’t want the same to happen to you.

Dan put his phone down on the coffee table in front of him. He thought who this person could be, they obviously knew Phil and they knew himself. It must’ve bee when they were together, that would be the only way.

“Dan! Do you want a drink?” asked Dan’s mum

“No thanks”

Dan looked at his phone again, the time displayed 14:20. “Oh crap” Dan got up and put his phone in his pocket.

“Mum I forgot to say but I’ve got a piano lesson now”

“Okay dear, have fun” his mum said waving

“There are biscuits in the top cupboard if you want any by the way, bye!” said Dan rushing out the door

Dan put his earphones in and pressed play on Spotify. A mix of his favorite songs began to play and allowed him to forget about the strange and mysterious texts.

*a 20-minute walk later*

He pressed the intercom and waited for the beep.

“It’s me, Daniel”

The door buzzed, and he entered the black and white building. He walked up a few stairs before entering ‘Room 33’

“Hey Sarah” Dan said greeting his piano mentor.

“hello Daniel, have you brought the sheet music you wanted to learn?” she said looking for a bag on Dan’s person.

“Oh..what” said Dan looking confused

“We talked on the phone two days ago? We talked about you bringing in your own sheet music

“Oh yeah, I forgot, sorry”

Sarah started becoming concerned, In the last three years Dan had been learning piano he had never came unprepared.

“is everything alright Daniel?”

Dan ignored what Sarah had asked and focused on the vibration coming from his pocket.

“Uh excuse me” Dan said running out of the room.

The same number appeared, the one who had been texting him about Phil, except this time it was calling him. Dan pondered on the thought of picking up the call, he really wanted to know who it was and why he was being targeted.

“Hello?” Dan said timidly down the phone.

“Is this Dan” asked the mystery number

“Ye-yes” Dan stuttered. He knew the person on the phone was a man by his deep voice.

“You haven’t shown your texts to Phil, have you?”

“No, I haven’t, I hardly know him”

“Good, I don’t want him to lie to you because I’m telling you the truth”

“Why are you telling me?”

“I saw you two in London and I recognized Phil, I managed to get your number from the phone book”

Dan started becoming suspicious of the man behind the phone and decided he should ask more questions, he opened the note app on his phone and started taking notes on what the mystery man was saying. He used his degree knowledge from university, he was always good at getting answers out of people.

“So how did you know I wasn’t just a random person?” Dan questioned

“Well, I just knew you were with his- you were just with him sitting on the same bench and he looked at you when you left”

Dan took down more notes, picking up on the fact that he gave away that there was someone else there as well as him and Phil.

“Oh, that’s fair enough, what’s your name by the way?”

“It’s Al-Adam”

“Alam?”

“No, Adam, sorry I’m just a bit nervous when it comes to Phil” said the mystery caller.

“Thanks for the heads up about Phil, I appreciate it. But if you don’t mind me asking what did he do?” asked Dan

“It’s okay, well he left with my child and he just cut off all communication, so I couldn’t see her, it’s so messed up, she must be three now at least”

That was it, that’s all Dan needed to put everything together, the slip of another person, a three-year-old daughter- Lia and the cut of communication which Phil had told Dan about. It all made sense, Adam was Alex. He had to warn Phil.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, that’s horrible, thank you for letting me know. I must go now. Thanks Adam”

“No problem” Alex said strangely amused.

Dan finished making the notes in his phone and went back into the room Sarah was in.

“Hey, uh I don’t feel well at all, is it okay if we re-schedule?”

“That’s perfectly okay, Daniel, take care okay”

“Thanks Sarah” said Dan

Dan ran out of the door and down the steps back outside, he didn’t bother putting his earphones in he just wanted to get home as quick as he could. He began speed walking which turned into running. He thought about the whole scenario, Alex presuming that he was into Phil. Dan came to a halt. He just threw away one of his beloved piano lessons for a guy he’s only known for 24 hours, a guy who came across on a street, with just. one. touch. Was he falling for someone he’d only just met? No. Dan slapped himself, he was being stupid, that never happens – “especially not to me”

He pulled out his phone again and went to Phil’s contact, he pressed on the caller page and dialed the number.

…

…

“Hello!” Phil said from the other end of the phone.

“Hey, uh, how are you?”

“um, good? Are you alright Dan?”  
“Yeah, yeah I’m okay”

“Good, so how come you rang me?”

“I’m not actually sure sorry I’m so awkward on the phone”

“It’s okay so am I haha”

“I better let you tend to Lia and get on with your evening haha”

“Haha thanks, have a good evening!”

“Thanks”

*beep*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a shorter chapter today, none the less I hope you enjoyed Chapter 6.  
> Thank you all so much for reading, your support is unreal!  
> Bye for now x


	7. Waterburn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan returns home and does some researching.

After ending the phone call to Phil, Dan had ran back to his apartment and stood at his door, laying his head against the metal frame, he was so annoyed with himself. “Why didn’t I just tell him there and then!” he thought. A sigh escaped his body and he got out his apartment key from his jean pocket and unlocked the door.

“Daniel is that you?” said Dan’s mum, concerned.

“Yeah only me mum”

“You’re back early are you alright?”

“I just felt queasy all of a sudden” lied Dan

“Oh well I’ve just ordered my cab to go home, will you be alright dear?”

“Yeah, yeah you go, I’ll be okay. I think I just need some water and rest, I’ve been up to my eyeballs I work”

“Remember to take care of yourself, your career is stressful so just make sure you make time for yourself okay?” 

“Yes mum, thanks” Dan got up and gave his mum a hug before walking her to the door and saying goodbye.

After his mother had left, Dan went and got his laptop from his bedroom, he turned it on and got himself a cup of coffee. Tapping on the table, he thought of where he should start to find Alex. ‘Facebook, he has to be on there’. Dan frantically began typing in Alex into the search bar, hundreds upon hundreds of accounts popped up, he needed a last name. Dan looked at the screen blankly, thinking about any information he had gotten that could help find this Alex. Scrolling aimlessly through all these Alex’s he got an idea. Maybe his phone number is in the phone book, the number wasn’t a private number and even Alex said he found Dan in the phone book. This was the only lead he had so he went for it, Dan picked up his phone and went to his recent calls and there it was 077664447821, he stumbled over his coffee table to find the yellow phone book, flipping through number after numbers until he found him.

A L E X W A T E R B U R N

Dan started searching his name into Facebook and three accounts popped up, the first one had no profile picture, the second one had a picture of a goldfish as the display picture and the last one was a picture of Alex and Phil with their arms around each other. Glaring at the screen he clicked onto the profile which displayed numerous pictures of him and Phil together.  
A deep feeling of jealousy and protectiveness filled Dans body, his arms tensed at the thought of Alex gripping onto Phil’s wrists and hurting him. It felt so weird to be struct in such a way by someone he hardly knew. Phil for sure had a big impact on him and it was making Dan act abnormally. He felt so protective over him, but he didn’t know why. Was it because he had a child? Or was it just Phil?

Hours went by and Dan had reached the end of Alex’s Facebook account, endless pictures of Alex and Phil were displayed all over his profile. ‘Why didn’t he delete them after they broke up? It’s almost been three years’ Dan thought. He wondered if Phil’s had the same, he shook his head, he didn’t want to know. He stretched his back and rubbed his eyes from the screen glare and went into the kitchen for another cup of coffee. The whirring of the kettle started, and Dan reached for a cup.

*SMASH*

Pieces of cup flew all over the kitchen, “fuck” Dan shouted. He reached for the dustpan and brush next to him and collected all the pieces in the pan and chucked them into the bin. He wiped his brow rubbing his throbbing head and looked up at the clock. 2:30am. “SHIT” Dan exclaimed, he had work at 7am in the morning.

Dan sighed and poured himself a glass of water instead, downing the lot and going into his bathroom to brush his teeth. Half way through brushing he heard a Facebook notification *bloop*, Dan’s heart rate increased. He took out his phone cautiously and read the notification on his phone.

*new message from Phil Lester*

Dan’s heart rate returned to normal and a smile creeped up on his face, he tapped on the message.

“Hey new Facebook friend! :]”

Dan’s dimple imploded as he smiled and tapped out a reply, accepting Phil’s friend request.

“Hello, Stalker, :P”

He waited a couple of minutes for a reply but didn’t receive one, so he finished brushing his teeth and took off his jeans and t-shirt leaving him in his boxers. He thought of telling Phil about the Alex situation but thought better of it seeing as it was now 3am. Turning his phone off, Dan made sure his apartment door was locked and went to sleep.  
Dreams of Phil crept into his mind as he slept.  
Him and Phil walking hand in hand through a park, Lia appearing from behind them, running in front with a big smile on her face. It was just them a happy family...until he saw Alex approaching in front of them, Alex started running for Lia, Dan was trapped and couldn’t help her. Alex pounced onto Lia taking her away. Dan ran after her but couldn’t find her, he turned around and saw Alex hitting Phil, he ran back towards Phil. He was left lying on the ground gasping for breath.  
“PHIL” Dan shouted waking up. His heart was racing, and he was covered in sweat.  
It was obvious Dan wasn’t sleeping tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Everyone!  
> Sorry I have been gone for so long, I wasn't in the right mindset to proceed writing this fanfic, however I am better now and should be updating more frequently! I have plenty of ideas of how I want the story to go so stay tuned!  
> I hope you have all enjoyed this chapter of 'A touch is all it takes'  
> (p.s the next chapter will be focusing on Dan but don't worry Phil will have a chapter again soon!)   
> See you on the internet ;)


	8. Just a Dream

*beep beep*

The alarm Dan had set last night went off loudly, 6am sharp. Dan rolled over to one side, pressing down hard on the button to mute the piercing noise. He moved over back to the warm side of the bed and laid there for a few minutes before sitting up and stretching. The duvet was crumpled up tight around him after the nightmare he had about Phil, he hadn’t had hardly any sleep/

*bleep*

Dan rubbed his eyes and looked over at his phone, he had a Facebook message.  
*new message from Phil Lester*

This made Dan smile from ear to ear, he immediately without thinking opened the message and read.

P: Hello! Sorry I didn’t reply to your message last night, duty called with Lia and then I completely fell asleep  
Dan tapped out a reply.

D: Hey that’s alright, I went to sleep anyway haha

P: What are you doing today? I was wondering if you’d like to go and get a coffee again?

D: I have work today, can we reschedule? What are you doing today?

P: Oh gosh sorry! I’m just working on my recent book, designing a cover for it

D: Wow that sounds better than my day haha, I have to go now else I’ll be late, talk soon! :D

A moment of sadness filled Dan, he really wanted to go and see Phil again, it would help with Alex as well. He sighed and put his phone on his bedside table and made the bed, he glanced at the clock, it now displayed 6:45, he was going to be late no matter how fast he tried to get ready. As a hard worker he didn’t like having days off and he enjoyed working as a lawyer but the thought of seeing Phil again gave him something more.   
‘Fuck it’ he thought, he was going to go and meet Phil.

Quickly he got picked up his phone again and rang his work phone number, put on his best sick voice and said he couldn’t come in today. After finishing up on the phone he jumped back into his bed and set his alarm for 9am to get some more sleep so he wasn’t tired when meeting with Phil.

The alarm Dan set went off and he leapt up, rushing to get in the shower. He started pulling clothes out of his wardrobe trying to pair his best outfit together, he ended up with a pair of ripped black jeans and a black and white checked hoodie. Nodding at himself in the mirror he psyched himself up for what he was about to go and tell Phil. Five deep breaths later he locked his apartment door and set off down to the Covent Garden station, a short walk away from his home.

Realising he hadn’t let Phil know what he was doing he decided to text him a message, “Hey change of plan, I can meet up for coffee now :)” Ten minutes went by and he received no reply. He started to feel like it was a stupid going to meet Phil again, he felt pushy.

It wasn’t too long before Dan realised, he was over reacting, and he had received a message from Phil confirming that coffee was still on. He let himself sink against the wall, feeling relieved. The next train was due in 10 minutes, so he walked to the shop that was near him to look at the magazines. Scanning the racks he found a Guild Wars 2 magazine he hadn’t come across before, he flicked through some pages and decided to get it to read on the train along with a crunchie bar.

After queuing to get on the train, it finally departed, the train started grinding agains the track, starting to pick up speed. Dan looked out the window watching the dark underground tunnels fly by, he saw a face appear in the window, it looked like Alex. ‘Not again’ he thought. Alex began getting closer and closer, it looked like Alex was about to jump into the train. *SMASH* the train grinded to a halt and Alex appeared in front of him when he re-opened his eyes. “WAKE UPPPPPPPPPPP” Alex was shouting at Dan whilst violently shaking him.

Dan woke up. Phil wasn’t real, Alex wasn’t real, Lia wasn’t real.  
Everything had been a dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all with your patience for this fic! I really appreciate it.  
> I did plan to have this story go on for more chapters however, to be honest I completely lost all motivation and the story didn't go together as well as I thought in my head.  
> Although this is bad news, I don't want to promise but I have an idea that I'm really confident in pursing to make into a new story, I'm not sure when I will be back but hopefully it's soon because I have really enjoyed seeing everyone's feed back. I appreciate anyone who has read this story, thank you!  
> <3


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